HP's board considers ousting CEO: report

(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's board is considering ousting Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker after less than a year on the job and replacing him temporarily with former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, Bloomberg cited two sources familiar with the matter as saying.

Shares of HP jumped 8.2 percent to $24.31 in late morning trading after news emerged of the potential departure of Apotheker, who has faced harsh criticism from Wall Street.

The former SAP CEO was a surprise choice to replace the popular Mark Hurd. During his tenure, he slashed sales forecasts repeatedly. In August, HP again frustrated investors by reversing course and killing off its much-touted line of mobile devices like the TouchPad, and declaring it might -- or might not -- spin off its massive PC division.

Whitman joined HP's board after a failed bid to become California's governor last year.